1. Technical Field
This invention relates generally to decorative water features, including waterfalls, water fountains and the like used for landscaping and other decorative purposes. More particularly, it relates to a water sheeting manifold that discharges water in a sheet in order to provide a desired waterfall effect.
2. Description of Related Art
The term xe2x80x9cwater sheeting manifoldxe2x80x9d herein means a water discharge fitting that produces a sheet of water for landscaping and/or other decorative purposes. It is sometimes referred to, among other things, as an enclosure, a water box, a water containment vessel, a water apparatus, and/or a water feature unit or device. The enclosure has a hollow interior with a plurality of water-spreading chambers and a plurality of chamber-connecting passageways that result in a sheet of water.
A water supply pipe or other conduit supplies water to a water inlet portion of the enclosure. The enclosure conveys the water via the water-spreading chambers and chamber-connecting passageways to a water outlet on the enclosure. As that occurs, the water-sheeting manifold causes the water to discharge through the water outlet in a thin, broad stream or sheet (i.e., a water sheet or sheet of water) in order to produce a desired decorative effect.
Water sheeting manifolds are well known and commonly used components. Reference may be made to U.S. Pat. No. 4,881,280 and United States Patent application Publication No. US 2001/0018776 A1 for examples of some water sheeting manifolds and their construction.
The water-spreading chambers within the enclosure cause the water to spread laterally as it flows from the inlet to the outlet. They do that in order to produce a sheet of water at the outlet. Typically, the enclosure includes three such chambers and the related chamber-connecting passageways.
Baffles or other water diverting and diffusing plates and/or other structures are typically tack-welded in place within the enclosure to define the desired chambers and passageways. The problem is that fabrication time and cost can be significant. In addition, welds within the chamber sometimes corrode to the point where the flow of water is affected and the water sheeting manifold must be replaced at additional significant cost. Thus, users need a water sheeting manifold that alleviates those concerns.
It is an object of this invention to alleviate the forgoing and other disadvantages of prior art water sheeting manifolds. This object is achieved by providing a water sheeting manifold having an enclosure with sides that define water-spreading chambers and chamber-connecting passageways within the enclosure without flow-controlling baffles or other water-diverting and diffusing structures within the enclosure. Thus, fabrication costs are less and corrosion of chamber-defining and passageway-defining structure within the interior of the enclosure is avoided.
The illustrated embodiments accomplish this and more. Preferably, the water inlet includes a fitting set at forty-five degrees relative to horizontal in order to facilitate installation irrespective of water supply pipe orientation. In addition, the first and second sides of the enclosure of one embodiment are extruded, while those of a second embodiment are separate components that are bent into a desired shape and then welded together.
To paraphrase some of the more precise language appearing in the claims, a water sheeting manifold constructed according to the invention includes an enclosure having a hollow interior with a plurality of water-spreading chambers and a plurality of chamber-connecting passageways. The enclosure includes water inlet means for conveying a flow of water into the hollow interior. It also includes water outlet means for conveying the flow of water from the hollow interior in the form of a sheet of water.
The enclosure has opposite first and second ends and first and second sides extending between the first and second ends. According to a major aspect of the invention, the first and second sides include a plurality of sections that cooperate with the first and second ends to define the water-spreading chambers and chamber-connecting passageways without other chamber-defining structure and passageway-defining structure within the enclosure. According to another aspect of the invention, the water inlet means includes a fitting that extends from the enclosure at a forty-five degree angle relative to horizontal, when the enclosure is in a predetermined installation orientation, in order to thereby facilitate connection of the fitting to a separate water supply pipe irrespective of the water supply pipe orientation relative to horizontal. The following illustrative drawings and detailed description make the foregoing and other objects, features, and advantages of the invention more apparent.